When LeBron James and agent Rich Paul met last week with Lakers head of basketball operations Rob Pelinka and coach Darvin Ham, a possible contract extension for James was only one of many topics of conversation, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
As Haynes details, most of the hour-long meeting was spent discussing strategies and expressing opinions about how to ensure that the 2022/23 season won’t be a repeat of the Lakers’ disappointing ’21/22 campaign.
Sources tell Yahoo Sports that LeBron “drilled home the importance of consistent competitiveness and cohesion.” James wants to be sure that this season’s team competes and gives itself a chance to win every night, which wasn’t the case last year.
According to Haynes, Ham agreed with James’ assessment and vowed to hold players accountable and “foster an atmosphere of selflessness.” The Lakers’ new head coach wants to see the team recommit to playing strong defense and suggested that any players who are hesitant to play the roles asked of them will run the risk of being removed from the game, sources tell Yahoo Sports.
Here’s more on the Lakers from Haynes:
- Ham wants to run Los Angeles’ offense through Anthony Davis, and James is on board with that plan. The club likes what it has seen from Davis this summer and believes he’s well positioned to take on a significant workload and stay healthy in 2022/23, Haynes notes.
- Pelinka plans to exercise patience when it comes to roster moves, preferring to assess how the current group performs before doing anything drastic, Haynes says. Of course, I suspect the club would still be willing to move Russell Westbrook before the season if a favorable deal arises.
- Speaking of Westbrook, Haynes indicates the Lakers are hopeful that he’ll be able to increase his three-point percentage from the corners in 2022/23.
- In an effort to build rapport with his teammates, James will decide on a destination to hold the Lakers’ annual mini-camp prior to training camp, with San Diego emerging as the most likely landing spot, according to Haynes.
- During last week’s meeting, Pelinka made it clear he wants to see LeBron retire as a Laker and vowed he’ll provide the resources necessary for James to compete for titles for as long as the future Hall of Famer remains in L.A., per Haynes.
Lakers aren’t doing a thing with Russ on the team so unless he gets traded I wouldn’t be getting excited.
Would love for them to get Pat Beverly and a bunch of vets from the Jazz. Pat in particular with his pesky defence, leadership and all the intangibles. He’d honestly be a great fit with LeBron.
They should be pushing to get involved with the Donovan Mitchell trade and try take back Beverly, Bogandovic (expiring contract) and either Clarkson or Beasley (sixth man role player).
.. the Jazz takes on and pays-off Westbrook and get a ton of assets in exchange. Hope such a trade is at least possible to pull off.
That is just sport writers making up stuff since why would jazz take on $47 million in a player they don’t want unless they get back a huge amount of draft picks not just 2 first rounders.
? What assets are the Lakers going to give to the Jazz? They won’t give up both of their final two 1st they control this decade to get Kyrie. The Jazz aren’t going to just want Westbrook. No on wants Westbrook!
Westbrook will be stretched and waived before September 1st. This is the last year of his contract. If they don’t do so they own him for the season. No one will trade for a rental after the 31st.
The black hole the Laker fans created around him will zap any positivity out of that team.
Not one person, not one media outlet or otherwise has even so much as asked him a question or even thought about doing an interview with him.
He is seen as and being treated as a throw away player whom laker heads and fans demand that teams give up players that are desired by many teams in exchange for him.
Why would any team do that?
Say your goodbyes now.
Waive Westbrook? Opt in for what?
In order to fix Westbrook shooting, Westbrook needs 27 shot attempts per game
@Sillivan- the last thing the Lakers should want is Westbrick taking 27 shots a game.
Remember that Westbrook makes almost 50 million this coming year. It’s his contract year so they will feel the pain and be clean of him when this season is over.
Waving and stretching is not a good plan for such a large contract. It still means 15 or 18 million on the books the next three years. That’s a good player two and three years from now. Not a smart move and not even considered by the lakers. They will sleep in the bed they made with this guy. They wanted him, they’ve got him, they’ll play with him.
Maybe there’s a trade out there where they can improve but I know they’re reluctant to include draft picks to DUMP Westbrook, they might include draft picks to improve. I have a feeling at the deadline, and I’ve said this a bunch of times, there’s a team that has two or three guys that add up to 50 million dollars and they’ll take back Westbrook expiring because these guys aren’t working out like they thought they would in training camp. That’s the Lakers hope at the deadline.
Spot on
It’s 6 years plus one. For 6.7 a year. I was working under the old 3 year rule like you are. Refer to the stretch and waive explanation in the glossary.
There are no more options starting Sept 1st since this is the last year of the contract. The 3 and 1 can’t be activated.
For the record, this is what’s in the glossary:
“If a player is waived between July 1 and August 31, his remaining salary is paid over twice the number of years remaining on his contract, plus one.”
In Westbrook’s case, that means 1 x 2 + 1, which = 3 years. That works out to annual dead money hits of $15,687,826 through 2024/25.
I don’t think the Lakers will want to trade Russ for any contracts that are longer than this year. Unless these 2-3 guys are good players that fit the Lakers, why not just ride out the season and choose who you want to pursue with all that $?
I would say mainly because LeBron turns 38 in December.
Having said that, I wouldn’t bet against the guy playing until he’s 45 at this point, just because betting on LeBron’s decline has been a terrible bet for almost a decade now … but LA probably wants to maximize every season he has left
The Lakers in enough chaos. They will need all the cap space they can get for next year. They don’t want 14+ million cap hits for the next 3 years. They will just buyout Russ and start anew next year after Lebron bolts because the team is a mess.
That is why they will start the season with Westbrook. Now when he is coming off the bench and he gets upset they can suspend him with out pay and save money. If they are out of it half way through the season they release him.
This is the most likely probability that will happen.
Nuts!
No, there’s not a worse option available than the one you suggest
Buy out Westbrook at $42 million
It means Westbrook sleeps at home and get paid $42 million
Do you think Westbrook will take this?
Opt in is not sacrifice
Getting pay $42 million is sacrifice
“Buy out Westbrook” Sillivan? That makes zero sense. It would still count in the cap and you’re minus a guy who’s a 20-10-10 potential, or 12-7-7 potential, whatever. Think before you write. If they buy him out that $$ is still part of their cap. They would be screwing themselves more than they already have. Think Sillivan, think.
Oh look. Another post about the Lakers.
As opposed to Durant and Irving? Compared to that this is fresh news.
I mean, it’s summer and they need to post content.
What else you got?
The key difference in this article is that AD os the lynchpin, not Lebron or Westbrook. If AD is MVP caliber this year, which he could be, then most of their problems can be solved.
All you naysayers, the Lakers have been resurrected more than Jesus. I’ve been around and even witnessed one of the 33 game win streak in 1972. That was when Jerry West Wilt Chamberlain and Company beat Unsell and the Baltimore Bullets. So to help you with the accounting I’ve seen 11 championships in my lifetime. And after each Dynasty yes, Dynasty I heard you naysayer talk crap about the greatest team in basketball. So I laugh at you now. Only one fan base has earned the respect most certainly to talk crap right now and that’s the Celtic fan base. The rest of you win some f****** championships. Then talk. And remember this the only reason the NBA exists is so the Lakers have somebody to play. But do me one favor, always believe in your team because there was a time when the Lakers or struggling and I never thought they would win in LA but I believed in them without putting down other teams. If you want to be a champion you have to beat the best and the Lakers have more often than not given other teams that opportunity.
This team is a mess and it all starts with the front office and ownership. Lebronze will bolt for greener pastures next year if they miss the playoffs again.
“Ham wants to run Los Angeles’ offense through Anthony Davis”.
How can you run an offense through the sidelines?
I’m still baffled at why they gave up so much to get Westbrook old news now I know…
He was already trending down since he went to Houston
If that was Lebrons call, he sucks at being a GM
Basically ruined any good of what was left of Russ’s career and he got to be the hated scapegoat playing in his hometown
But I can’t feel sorry for a person making 45m a year
So you are saying that Lebron James is in contract negotiations with the Lakers?
You dont say…never heard anything about this at all.
Reading between the lines here it sounds like this meeting was more or less about Bron, Pelinka, and Ham getting on the same page about benching Westbrook, assuming he continues to view not playing defense, not cutting, and hitting the side of the backboard on his jump shots as cool things to do.
What a surreal article. Think about the reality of these three sentences:
[Sources tell Yahoo Sports that LeBron “drilled home the importance of consistent competitiveness and cohesion.” James wants to be sure that this season’s team competes and gives itself a chance to win every night, which wasn’t the case last year.
According to Haynes, Ham agreed with James’ assessment and vowed to hold players accountable and “foster an atmosphere of selflessness.”]
Does that sound like a player or a GM? I know it’s been said a million times that LeBron is the Lakers de facto GM, but wow!
These are the words that a GM would use to give a coach’s their marching orders.
Just wild.
Rusty shot 43% from corner 3s ranking him 49th in the NBA, his highest ever. Let me say it again…43%!!
Getting higher might be a big ask.